From American-style China studies to Sino-Thai Sinologism: a decolonising idea of China through foreign affairs from below

Abstract The idea of China cannot be restricted to that of mainland China, as Euro-American and Chinese scholars perceive it. In Thailand, China studies were originally formulated by American scholars during the Cold War. However, this framework has failed to capture the complex and evolving dynamics between the United States, Thailand, and China. This article explores how Sino-Thai scholars have attempted to develop a new understanding of “Sinologism” as a decolonial response to the American-style approach to China studies. This paper employs qualitative methods from the humanities to analyse the evolving idea of China through the lens of Sino-Thai Sinologism, which differs significantly from its American-style counterpart. Situated within an emerging direction in Area Studies, this form of scholarship embodies academic diplomacy or “foreign affairs from below” – one shaped by both Westerners and Asians.